Stove Top Chicken Breast (BEST Chicken Recipes)

This Stove Top Chicken Breast is so incredibly tender and juicy and takes only 25 minutes from start to finish. It’s one of the best chicken recipes there is when you want a fresh, home cooked meal on a busy weeknight!

Chicken breasts are a staple in most households because they are quick and easy to cook and they can take on a variety of flavors. Our household is no different! The flavors of this chicken are similar to my Baked Chicken Breasts recipe, but you don’t have to turn on the oven, which frees it up for fresh baked bread, veggies, or even dessert!

How to Make Stove Top Chicken Breasts

I use my favorite seasoning blend of spices that really give this stovetop chicken it’s incredible flavor. The best part is you probably already have them in your pantry, and it works for all kinds of chicken recipes!

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One of the keys to cooking boneless chicken breasts is to get them to a more even thickness. If you look at the breast you can see that it’s really thick at one end, and of course that takes longer to cook. The other end is very thin which cooks much faster. The problem with this is that you end up with one end that’s dry and the opposite end that could even be a little underdone, which is why a lot of chicken recipes get a bad rap. So to rectify that, pound that chicken! Use a mallet or even a small skillet to pound out the thicker end of the chicken and make it more uniform.

This cooking process is simple but does require a little patience. After you put the chicken in a hot pan (listen to that sizzle!), whatever you do, don’t touch it! Let it sit for 4 minutes to get a nice sear, then flip it over. After about 2 minutes, turn the heat to low, add a pat of butter (totally optional, but adds additional flavor) and cover the skillet. This gives the chicken time to cook fully without burning.

Finally after about 10 minutes remove the skillet from the heat and let it sit, still covered (again, don’t touch it!) for another 10 minutes. This time allows the juices to redistribute (“rest”) so they don’t run all over the cutting board leaving you with a dry, lifeless chicken breast.

This is one of the best chicken recipes ever!!

There you have it – perfectly tender and juicy chicken breasts on the stovetop in just about 25 minutes!

Here’s a little tip for you – See all that juice in the pan? Don’t throw it out! You can do one of two things:

Drizzle it over as is.

Make a gravy by adding the juices to some melted butter and flour in a small pot.

Either way you are making one of the best chicken recipes ever, even better!

Ingredients

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder. Place the chicken in a baking dish and sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken and rub it in with your hands.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet (with a tight fitting lid) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and leave it alone to sear and cook for 4 minutes on the first side. Flip the chicken and add the butter to the skillet, swirling it around the pan as it melts. Cook for 2 minutes, then cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat down to low for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and rest, covered, for another 10 minutes.

Hi! I’m Kristin, the creative mind behind Yellow Bliss Road where you will be inspired by tons of easy to follow recipes, lots of free printables, and a little sprinkling of life thrown in for good measure.

OMG! I tried your stovetop chicken method. I can’t believe I have been cooking it wrong all these years! Your method is by far the best stovetop chicken I have ever cooked. I didn’t use your seasoning though, as I am currently in love with Adobo and black pepper as a seasoning for chicken. Thanks so much for the technique. I am going to try this with turkey breast cutlets too. Yum.

I was nervous about this method (let the chicken rest for 10 minutes – will it even be cooked?!) but I am SO HAPPY with the result. It tastes amazing and it was so easy! Plus, it freed up my oven for roasted veggies. Great post, thank you!

I used a different marinade so I will only comment on the stove top directions. A little disappointed that my chicken was burned when I flipped it after the first 4 minutes. I don’t know why, as I had it on medium-high and dropped it to medium after only 2 minutes when I saw that it was browning faster than it should. I love your sausage/peppers/rice skillet dish though, and showed it to my sisters and mom, who both make that recipe now as well!

I have tried this two more times, and I cooked it on my electric stovetop on just over medium heat so as to avoid burning. It worked great following the rest of your cooking instructions. Very tender and flavorful! I can now rate this 5 stars! I would suggest to people trying this cooking method for the first time to check your chicken when it is cooking on that first side to make sure it isn’t burned after a couple minutes! I am wondering if this stovetop method will work for boneless skinless chicken thighs? I’m going to try it today!

First note I will admit I do not like chicken much but I am trying to get more in my diet and have been trying different recipes. I really like this with the spices you recommended and will be sure to make it again. Yes I had to fiddle around with my stove temp. Made two sets. First set cautious because of previous comments then second set with a fairly close to high setting for my old electric glass top stove. Second set got seared better. Thanks so much for this recipe. Moist and very tasty. I will be sure to make is often and maybe even experiment with some different seasoning. YOU are a life saver. THANKS!

Hi, thanks for the recipe, it’s a pretty nice way to make the chicken breast. Only thing I should have done was maybe started it later, it ended up being done first before all my sides so my timing was off.

Hello!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious and easy recipe!! I followed it to the ‘T’ and everything turned out perfect! My kids and husband loved it, and I have made sure to share it with my sister and mom!
And the fact that it was easy, is a wonderful bonus!! 🙂 Thank you again!!

I am now making this for the second time and we just love it! This method really works! And the seasoning combination is great. The proof is in the pudding – my picky teens all loved it and now ask for it. The only thing I did differently the second time is make more of it!

Hi, Kristin! Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight for dinner.I didn’t have onion powder and it didn’t matter. I added Chipotle powder along with garlic powder and chili powder, salt and pepper. I followed your recipe but, had just picked some hot peppers from our garden and threw 2 of them into the skillet with 2 chicken breasts after they were browned. We like our food a little spicy. My husband raved at how tender and juicy the chicken tasted and he loved the little bit of heat from the peppers. I will certainly make this again and share your recipe with my friends. 🙂

SO moist! Previously I always seem to dry out my chicken breasts, and I love that you can really use any spice you like for flavour (though I really like the suggestion in the recipe) 🙂
Delicious and EASY. Five stars!

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